Reclaiming Power Using Tarot for Empowerment in Times of Uncertainty

Reclaiming Power Using Tarot for Empowerment in Times of Uncertainty

[00:00:00] Jessica: You know that feeling, the restlessness, the unease, like something is shifting inside you, but you can't quite name it. And so you reach for your tarot deck, hoping for clarity, hoping the cards will tell you what to do next. But instead of feeling grounded, you still feel really unsettled, like the message just isn't landing.

[00:00:20] That's because the clarity you're looking for isn't in the cards alone, and the agitation you feel, that's not just uncertainty, it's your inner knowing, trying to get your attention. And if you're only looking at the cards, you're missing the most important part.

[00:00:38] Your journey to the divine is an intimate exploration of self, where you are both the seeker and the source of enlightenment. I, Jessica Paschke, invite you to break free from the ordinary, to reforge your spiritual path with courage, Curiosity and audacity, unleash the power of your spiritual connection, stepping into a purpose driven life [00:01:00] free of have twos and shoulds.

[00:01:02] Join me on this profound exploration of rediscovery where you'll not only redefine your own spiritual practice, but also inspire a collective awakening. Welcome to reclaiming our spirit. Welcome

[00:01:18] back to reclaiming our spirit. Today, we're diving into how to shift your tarot practice. So it actually works in uncertain times. Not as a way to escape the discomfort, but as a tool to help you move through it. And this is it. This is the final episode of the season and we are closing things out talking about the biggest shifts that you can make in how you use tarot.

[00:01:38] And before we go in that direction, I want to talk just a little bit about my moment of joy. It's very simple. It warmed up a little bit the last few days. Enough that I could be outside and take a walk on the beach. It felt so good. Walking on the beach for me is like one of those things that just helped me reset.

[00:01:58] Especially if I'm feeling drained, if I'm [00:02:00] feeling heavy and just weighed down, and this winter has been like that, it's been so cold. Getting outside, getting fresh air, and being near like my elemental love language was huge, it really, it was revitalizing. And now it's cold again, but I had that moment, I had that moment of joy where it wasn't cold for a hot second.

[00:02:19] And I can see the light, I can see the light happening. So, today, in this episode, we are breaking down why tarot doesn't work the way we expect it to in WTF moments, how we can shift the practice so it actually supports us, and what the real power of tarot is, and it's not about predicting the future. So let's dive in.

[00:02:41] We talked about WTF moments, moments where the ground falls out from under you and suddenly you're standing in that in between and you're not quite sure which way to go. And if you're anything like me, when you're in that crossroads space, the first thing you turn to in those moments is your card deck.

[00:02:57] Tarot, Oracle, Angel. Hoping for [00:03:00] answers, hoping for reassurance, maybe even a sign that things are going to be okay. Now, ideally, that's what would occur. But instead, a lot of times in these WTF moments, the cards don't always give us what we're looking for. In fact, they can leave us feeling even more uncertain and upside down.

[00:03:18] And it's interesting as to why that happens, why tarot sometimes feel like it isn't working when you need it the most. And I think that a lot of the times it's because this agitation that we're feeling and uncertainty, it isn't just about not knowing what's next. Yes, that is maybe triggering it. Yes, it's contributing to it.

[00:03:36] But I think that there's something deeper going on there. Because when life feels really uncertain, We like to default and think that it's the external chaos causing it, the whole thing. We look at everything around us, outside of us, to every person outside of us. When in reality, there's also an internal signal telling us that a shift is happening.

[00:03:56] Something is changing, and that [00:04:00] agitation is telling us specifically that something is out of alignment with who we are. And who we want to become, and this is why tarot can feel really frustrating in those moments because we're coming to our decks. We're wanting to feel better, we're we're wanting to have an answer, maybe even one right answer, but our decks aren't made for that.

[00:04:19] They're not made to erase the discomfort. They're made to help you listen to the discomfort and figure out what needs to come back into alignment. They're helping you to see more. There are three shifts that actually help tarot work in WTF moments. So it's not like you can't use your tarot cards during WTF moments.

[00:04:43] You just have to shape the tool differently. You have to shift the way that you're working with it in a different way to navigate those world to fool moments. This first shift From prediction to perspective. This is huge. We touched on it a little bit in the last episode, but [00:05:00] from prediction to perspective is the first shift.

[00:05:03] So, if we're thinking like Tarot, like a mirror, to help us see what's inside, it's helping us to create more self awareness to know ourselves better. We're shifting from this way of, is this gonna work out? Will this work out, Tarot? Is this the right path into this idea of what am I not seeing right now?

[00:05:20] What is influencing my perspective? So less what's going to happen and more what's this moment revealing to me about myself? So you're not using it to predict outcomes. You're using it to expand your awareness of what's happening in the present moment. And when we're in uncertain times. Often the present moment is the only thing that we have control over.

[00:05:41] That's just like life in general though. But often the present moment is the only thing that we have control over. We don't know what's going to happen. We can't change what's happened. So what are we going to do in this moment? Okay. And tarot helps us navigate that and get a really good feel for that.

[00:05:56] So let's say that you pull the tower. And instead of [00:06:00] thinking immediately, Oh my gosh, it's telling me that everything's going to fall apart. Everything's going to start on fire. You can think, okay. What outdated beliefs or structures am I holding on to that might be keeping me stuck in this moment, or at least are not supporting me for moving forward?

[00:06:17] So instead of thinking it's predicting what's happening, what if it's informing how you move forward? Different perspective. The second shift is moving from certainty, needing to be certain about something, to alignment. We actually don't need Taro to tell us what to do. I know it feels like we do, but we don't.

[00:06:38] Taro should be empowering, we should not be giving our power away to it. We need it to help us see where we're already in alignment and where we're not. So the old way of working with this, right, if we're looking for certainty, is what should I do? Taro, tell me, what should I do? The new way Would be looking at it like, what's aligned with who I am and where I want to [00:07:00] go.

[00:07:00] And it's not even like, tell me what's aligned. It's more like, what do I need to understand? What do I need to see so that I can understand more fully what's aligned with who I am and who I want to become? A great example of this, you pull the chariot. Instead of asking, like, am I going to be successful?

[00:07:16] Right? Often that comes like thinking, okay, I'm going to succeed. You pull the chariot and the question you pose to yourself is like, what do I need to know to move forward? And what's in alignment with my core intentions? Now, let me just pause for a second. So if I'm pulling the chariot and the message is okay, success.

[00:07:35] And you're thinking, okay, this means I'm going to be successful. Yes, what we're shifting here is not only the question that we're asking the tarot, but what we do after we pull the card. And this is really important. So what we're doing after we pull the card to really embrace alignment rather than certainty is we're posing a question to ourselves.

[00:07:53] I pulled the chariot. I know this is about moving forward and having the confidence to move [00:08:00] forward. So while I'm sitting here, what do I need to know about moving forward and staying in alignment with who I know to be, myself to be, and what my core intentions are? This may not be another card pull. This may simply be going back and looking at Your values, your intentions, journaling, seeing what's in there.

[00:08:17] Even though we're using the cards, we're probably asking a question or just telling me what I need to know in this moment. Sometimes it's as simple as that, show me what I need to know in this moment. What happens after we ask the question and pull the card is as important as what's happening in that first initial question.

[00:08:35] Especially with this shift of certainty to alignment. The next thing that you do is don't just settle for I'm going to be successful and I'm going to move forward. It's like, well, maybe the question really is, the tarot is asking you is like, well, how are you going to do that? What do you need to review?

[00:08:49] What needs to come back into your focus to make that happen? Shift three. We talked about this before. Seeking external validation. So shift three, we're moving away from like [00:09:00] having that external validation. Just strengthening our inner knowing. So rather than asking the cards, what should I do? We're thinking about it.

[00:09:08] Like, how did the cards reflect what I already know? A lot of times, you know, this comes up when we're pulling like a number of cards, like more than one. And the real issue here isn't 12 cards. That's not, that's not the issue. It's why are you pulling them? Are you pulling the 12 cards because you're seeking that external validation?

[00:09:32] You're looking for that answer you want, or you're looking for that whatever that will make you feel better. Rather than strengthening your inner knowing, it's all about intention when it comes to this. If we're using tarot to outsource our decisions rather than affirm our own wisdom, we're probably going to keep pulling cards.

[00:09:48] That's probably how we landed on card 12. Sometimes we will pull a card where we need to pull another card as a clarifier, or maybe even a third card. But you only know that if, like I said before, with that other shift [00:10:00] in step two with alignment, If you're asking yourself questions after each card and then you're realizing, Oh, this is actually a completely different way, a completely different thing than I thought it was.

[00:10:10] I'm going to pull another card to get clarity on that moment. So we're not outsourcing decisions and we're not pulling a million cards to do that. It's almost as if we're following this winding road and we're just getting curious and seeing where it could lead. So let's say you pull the hermit and that's the beginning of your winding road.

[00:10:29] Maybe you did ask, what should I do next? Not the most helpful question at times. But let's say you did. And you pulled a hermit. And it's like, okay. The hermit's saying, take a minute. Take a pause. Go within. What's your intuition telling you? What do you need to understand? What are the emotions you're feeling?

[00:10:48] What are the physical sensations in your body? What is that wisdom trying to come through? What do you need to internally see? So that you can move forward into the next step when you [00:11:00] shift it like that. Maybe there is another card that you need to draw after that. Maybe not. Maybe you stumble upon it, but it's the act of getting curious in this last step, getting curious and being like, okay, I'm going within, I'm using tarot as a mirror, I'm not expecting it to tell me what to do.

[00:11:17] I'm not expecting it to confirm something that I suspect. I'm just getting curious and to see what I can't see. What do I need to be seeing in this moment? And I think curiosity is the key with any of these, with any of these shifts, whether you're, you're shifting from this idea of prediction to perspective, certainty to alignment, external validation to inner knowing.

[00:11:41] The idea here is that curiosity is the key. And your cards work with that curiosity as keys themselves to continue to unlock the different layers, because we are multifaceted individuals. Initially, especially when we're feeling uncertain, we may think that there's like the first layer of what we [00:12:00] need to know.

[00:12:00] And yes, we need to acknowledge that first layer. Usually though, what happens is, is as we start working with the cards, we realize that there's layers. It's not just one answer. It's multiple answers or multiple things we need to be looking for. And so what Tara helps us do is keep challenging ourselves to stay curious and keep peeling back the layers.

[00:12:18] And I know that this sounds great in theory, like these shifts. And I want to talk a little bit about how we actually make it work when you're in the actual WTF moment. Those shifts can happen in your practice as a whole, but sometimes we're in that moment, everything is uncertain and we're grasping for something.

[00:12:37] So let's look at specifically in the WTF moment that we talked about. In the previous episode, because like we said, terror doesn't magically make uncertainty disappear or anything like that, but it's going to help us move forward. So if we're just looking at this first stage of a WTF moment, remember it's that spiral.

[00:12:54] Where everything feels like it's spinning, thoughts are racing, nervous system is all over the place. You're a little [00:13:00] disconnected from yourself. It's that initial like, oh my gosh, what is going on? Instead of reaching for your deck, looking for answers, you would reach for your deck and say, okay, I need to get stabilized.

[00:13:10] I need to have the spinning stop. I need to get stable. So in this case, tarot could act as an anchor, a way to slow that spiraling out down. Helping you reconnect to your center, helping you regulate your nervous system. We're not figuring anything out yet. You can't figure out from a place of panic. You can't.

[00:13:30] Right now, you're just slowing things down so you can anchor. So instead of like looking for answers like, Oh my god, what do I do? I'm spinning out. Yikes. You're actually going to shift the question to what can I anchor into right now. You're not asking them, the cards, what to do. You're looking at like what can just stop the spinning out in this moment.

[00:13:50] Help you get present. Sometimes the simple act of drawing a card is the thing that slows us down to help us get present. It doesn't even matter what the card says, [00:14:00] just gazing at the card, looking at the imagery, the colors, the symbols, that kind of thing can actually help slow us down and bring us into the present moment.

[00:14:10] So let's say you're shuffling your deck, you know, you're spinning out and you're like, Oh, how can I stabilize myself right now? And Empress card. Nurture. So what needs to happen? How are you going to stop spinning out? Maybe you realize you haven't eaten all day. Maybe you need to rest, take a nap. Maybe you just need to step outside for five minutes and breathe in that fresh air.

[00:14:30] The card, the Empress, becomes this anchoring, grounding force. It's not this pressure filled puzzle that you have to solve. You're not going to solve whatever's going on if you're spinning out. End of story. Period. So how do we stop the spin out? First step, if we're looking at stage two, then we're moving into this panic.

[00:14:50] Like I need to have the answers. So at least this time you're shifting. Now you've slowed down. You've stopped the spinning out a little bit. You've taken a moment, you know, you breathe. [00:15:00] Panic starts to like quiet down and the questions start popping up. Why did this happen? What should I do? How do I move forward?

[00:15:07] What's the, what's the right path and what Tarot can help you with in this stage is instead of trying to force it into a roadmap to tell you exactly what to do. Terra is going to help you move beneath the surface. So you're moving out of this reaction to uncertainty, that reacting, and you're understanding what's actually happening within you.

[00:15:29] For some of you, this may be identifying emotions. Or for some of you, it may be getting clearer on what's happening physically in your body. We're just shifting to this, what's beneath the surface? What's really going on with me? It's that layering again. That first layer, we may think that's the issue, but when we go to our cards and we really start looking at it, we realize there's more than one thing going on.

[00:15:55] There's multiple things. There's layers. So in this stage, what am I not [00:16:00] seeing clearly right now? What is hidden from me? Is a really great question to ask. Flipping that card. And then journaling. Okay, here's this card. It came up. What's coming up with it? What is this card trying to tell me? What, what door is this trying to open for me?

[00:16:20] What insight is this trying to tell me? It's not how to move forward, just what is going on beneath the surface. So let's say you pull the moon and instead of getting frustrated and thinking like, yeah, no shit, of course, I don't know what's going on. Thanks for telling me the obvious. You pause and you take a breath and you start to think about the aspects of the moon.

[00:16:43] So remember the moon is next to the sun and there are two very different ways of getting light on things. The sun is full blast, the light is on, you're seeing things in like the harsh light of day very clearly, everything you can see out for miles, but when the moon [00:17:00] slides in, it's not that there's a lack of light, the moon, if you've ever tried to sleep with a full moon, you will understand this, the moon has this brilliant way of lighting things up in a completely different way, and we start to notice Transcribed It's where the light is present and where the light isn't present.

[00:17:18] What's in the shadows? Things look completely different. Things look completely different in the light of the moon. And so what the card is asking you here, if you were to pull the moon is, hey, slow down. Rather than looking for things spot on, just allow yourself to shift and look at it from a different point of view.

[00:17:40] What's happening in the shadows? What's popping up here? One of the things that keeps dropping into my mind, if you've ever seen a moon garden, oh my God, they're gorgeous. A moon garden in the sun is wildly different looking than a moon garden at night where they focus on night blooming, white blossoms [00:18:00] that catch and reflect the moonlight.

[00:18:01] And it's gorgeous just because the moon has come up rather than getting annoyed saying, okay, I've got to look at this. I really got to look at this in a different way. I've got to be not looking at this with the idea that I'm going to get this bright sun full light, but there's this quiet mystery that's happening right now.

[00:18:19] How can I go beneath the surface? Stage three was the reckoning. Oh, the reckoning. Where you know exactly, like, you know exactly, okay, this is happening and I'm not going to know how to move forward. So here in the reckoning, Tarot helps with becoming a mirror for self trust. If I'm not going to get solid answers moving forward, then how do I at least trust myself enough that I can move forward?

[00:18:45] So once again, you're not looking for that external validation. You're learning to trust what you already know about yourself. The shift is like, okay, we don't need the cards to give us permission. They're going to help us step into our power, into [00:19:00] what we already know. So if you're in the reckoning, okay, and you're like, Oh, am I making the right decision?

[00:19:06] Am I making the right decision? Shifting that. into a check in. Am I making the right decision? Is a bit of a crutch question. Anytime we're looking at yes and no's, we're probably not going to get the answers we need because it is more multi layered, multifaceted. So checking in, okay, how does this step feel in my body?

[00:19:29] And what do I need to understand about this feeling? How does this decision feel in my body? Tune into that and then draw a card. What do I need to understand about those sensations in my body? So maybe you pull the fool. And instead of thinking like, Oh, this means I should just do it anyway and take the leap.

[00:19:50] You realize that the card is actually asking you to like ponder like, okay, where am I holding back? Because I'm afraid about uncertainty. What were those feelings in my body telling me [00:20:00] about taking that leap, taking that next step forward? What do I need to understand about myself so I can have the confidence?

[00:20:07] A lot of times when we're working with these WTF moments, if we had. really good choices in front of us, we wouldn't be in a WTF moment. We're not uncertain when all the choices are really great and it's just like picking one, right? I mean, there might be a little bit of uncertainty. What happens with uncertainty and WTF moments is that none of the choices are good choices.

[00:20:32] None of the decisions are good decisions, but you gotta make one. So how do you make the best decision given the choices that are in front of you? And that's where the tarot can come in. Okay, I'm tuning into my body. What's going on? None of these feel really great. So what do I need to know about making a decision?

[00:20:52] What do I need to keep in the forefront of my mind about making this decision? How can I take that first step and trust [00:21:00] myself knowing that it's not right, knowing that there isn't. Isn't a perfect way forward. Where do I need to be looking at? Where do I need my focus on those reckoning moments?

[00:21:13] Sometimes we focus on things that aren't actually going to be helpful, right? I was working with a client not too long ago. We were chatting about a court case that she was involved in, and she wanted to know if the court case would come in her favor, and I said, well, rather than look at that, why don't we look at what you need to be focused on, what you need to be putting your energy towards, because then that way, no matter how the court case ends up, You know that you were investing your energy in the places that were supporting how you want to move forward and where you wanted to go.

[00:21:44] And that shifted the direction of the reading completely. Because now we aren't saying, Am I going to win? Am I going to lose? Now we're like, Okay, no matter what happens, how are we moving forward? If it doesn't go in my favor, how will I respond rather than react? [00:22:00] And if it does go in my favor, then how do I respond rather than react?

[00:22:04] Just looking at them in a slightly different way. That perspective piece helps you get what you need in the moment. And I'm going to say this one more time, even though I've said this quite a bit this season, it's really hard to use tarot as a predictive tool when our future isn't created yet. If you believe that we co create our future, and there's some things that we can change and some things we can't for sure, but based on our decisions, our thoughts, the actions we take, the actions we don't take, that will change how the energy plays out.

[00:22:39] And unless you are An expert in predictive tarot reading and there are experts out there people who are really good at that is like their zone of genius and they've studied for a very long time to make it their zone of genius and they know exactly what they can ask when they can ask it and how to phrase it and whatever to get that predictive thing.

[00:22:59] I know them. They're [00:23:00] amazing at it, but the average person grabbing a deck isn't going predictive expert. They're just not. Okay, thanks So rather than setting yourself up for failure and trying to predictively read, gathering the pieces of information from the deck that you need in order to make the decision, in order to figure out how you want to move forward, is going to be key.

[00:23:25] Because you're not going to be able to necessarily ask the questions in the right way, in the right order, to get the right predictive answer. And if you, even if you go to a predictive reader y'all, And you hear the reading and you make a change or a shift or a choice or take an action because you don't like what the reading is about, you've changed the energy.

[00:23:47] You've changed the prediction of where the energy is going. So when we're using tarot as a check in, when we're using it for perspective, when we're using it as a mirror, self reflection, self awareness, it's a much more [00:24:00] empowered tool for a personal practice. If you're ready to shift your tarot practice from prediction to navigation, I would love it if you would join me for Uncertain Times.

[00:24:08] So it's a free three day activation. It's happening March 11th through the 13th. And we're going to be diving into all the juicy bits. Really, the juicy bits. All the small pieces to help shift how you work with uncertainty. How you work with your deck. And I would love to have you there. So, the link is in the show notes.

[00:24:26] I can't wait to see you inside. I can't wait to see your faces. One of the downsides of podcasting is I don't get to see your faces. So show up to this live event so I can see your faces. Thank you so much. For coming on this journey of this season and for really diving in and getting curious about how we can move through the world in a different way.

[00:24:45] I can't wait to come back and dive in even more deeply and really continue to explore. Our opportunities and our options and our ways forward for 2025. All right, y'all. Thank you so [00:25:00] much. We'll see you soon.

[00:25:05] Thank you for listening to Reclaiming Our Spirit. To find out how I can help you reclaim your spirit, reach out to me at www. jessicapaschke. com. Leave me a message and I just may share how you reclaimed your spirit in the next episode.

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